Rockets, Launches, Satellites, ISS, etc.

[Suranis]

https://www.theguardian.com/business/ar ... astronauts

Two US astronauts stuck in space as Boeing analyzes Starliner problems

Barry Wilmore and Sunita Williams have spent better part of month in ISS as engineers work out problem

Wed 26 Jun 2024 12.00 CEST
Last modified on Wed 26 Jun 2024 22.17 CEST

Boeing’s public relations crisis is now out of this world: the company’s Starliner spacecraft – with two astronauts onboard – are currently stuck in space.

After what started as an eight-day mission, US astronauts Sunita “Suni” Williams and Barry “Butch” Wilmore have now spent the better part of a month in the International Space Station as engineers work out the problems with Starliner.

It remains unclear when exactly the astronauts will be able to make their return to Earth. A Boeing spokesperson said they have “adjusted the return of Starliner crew flight test until after two planned spacewalks on Monday 24 June and Tuesday 2 July” and that they “currently do not have a date for the return, and will evaluate opportunities after the spacewalks”.

The spokesperson also noted “the crew is not pressed for time to leave the station since there are plenty of supplies in orbit, and the station’s schedule is relatively open through mid-August”.

The Starliner blasted into space on 5 June from Florida’s Cape Canaveral Space Force Station after two previously unsuccessful launches on 6 May and 1 June respectively.

A year behind schedule and $1.5bn over budget, this particular Nasa-Boeing mission had problems long before its official launch, including issues with reaction control thrusters and helium leaks.

The Boeing spokesperson noted that the helium leaks and most of the thruster problems have been “all stable and not a concern for the return mission.

“Four of the five thrusters that were previously shutting down are now operating normally. This means only one thruster out of 27 is currently offline. This does not present an issue for the return mission,” the spokesperson added.

Nasa and Boeing officials insist the astronauts are not stranded and that the technical difficulties do not threaten the mission. Nasa said the spacecraft requires seven hours of free-flight time to perform a normal end of mission and it “currently has enough helium left in its tanks to support 70 hours of free flight activity following undocking”.

[RTH10260]

Flying under the media radar

China returns samples from the moon's far side in historic 1st (video)

By Mike Wall
published 3 days ago

The lunar material touched down in China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region early Tuesday morning (June 25).

China has made spaceflight history yet again.

The nation's robotic Chang'e 6 mission returned material from the moon's mysterious far side to Earth on Tuesday (June 25) — something that had never been done before.

The milestone moment occurred Tuesday at 2:07 a.m. EDT (0607 GMT; 2:07 p.m. Beijing time), when Chang'e 6's return capsule landed in China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region.

Chang'e 6 consists of four modules: a lunar lander, a return capsule, an orbiter and an ascender (a small rocket carried by the lander).

This hardware launched on May 3 and arrived in lunar orbit five days later. On June 1, the lander touched down inside Apollo crater, which lies within the South Pole-Aitken (SPA) basin, a 1,600-mile-wide (2,500 kilometers) impact feature on the moon's far side.

The lander collected about 4.4 pounds (2 kilograms) of lunar material using a scoop and a drill. This precious cargo launched aboard the ascender on June 3 and met up with the mission's orbiter a few days later.


https://www.space.com/china-chang-e-6-m ... ding-earth

[RTH10260]

earlier

China's Chang'e 6 spacecraft finds long-sought particles on far side of the moon

By Sharmila Kuthunur
published June 14, 2024

The observations help astronomers better understand the chemical makeup of the moon's regolith.

A European experiment aboard China's Chang'e 6 mission has recorded previously undetected charged particles on the moon's surface, a catalog of which enables astronomers to better probe the chemical makeup of the moon's regolith.

These particles, which are essentially gases excited by sunlight, were detected at the landing spot of the Chang'e-6 spacecraft in the southern pocket of the Apollo crater, which lies within the South Pole-Aitken Basin on the moon's far side. The ion detector was the first European Space Agency instrument to land on the moon.

"This was ESA's first activity on the surface of the moon, a world-first scientifically, and a first lunar cooperation with China," Neil Melville, ESA's technical officer for the experiment, said in a statement. "We have collected an amount and quality of data far beyond our expectations."

While Earth is protected from solar storms thanks to its magnetic field, which repels and traps charged particles from the sun, the moon lacks its own magnetic field. So, gases in its vanishingly thin atmosphere — helium, ammonia, methane and carbon dioxide, among a handful of others — are easily ionized by sunlight and "picked up" by flowing plasma. These charged particles ferry information about the chemical makeup of the moon's regolith, where the gases originate from through different processes rife on the surface, including impacts from small asteroids.



https://www.space.com/change-negative-i ... -detection

[RTH10260]

China opens Chang'e 6 return capsule containing samples from moon's far side (video)

By Andrew Jones
published 10 hours ago

The moon material is being prepared for storage, analysis and research.

China's Chang'e 6 mission return capsule has been transferred to Beijing and opened to access its precious cargo.

The return capsule made its fiery plunge through the atmosphere on June 25 before landing in the grasslands of Inner Mongolia. The event brought the 53-day-long Chang'e 6 mission to a successful conclusion, delivering the first-ever lunar far side samples to Earth.

The capsule was airlifted to Beijing early Wednesday (June 26), to the China Academy of Space Technology (CAST), which designed the mission spacecraft. Once there, a ceremony was held which saw researchers open the return capsule and examine key technical indicators, according to state broadcaster CCTV.

Technicians remove the samples collected on the moon's far side from the return capsule of the Chang'e 6 lunar mission. (Image credit: CCTV)
A sample container, holding up to 4.4 pounds (2 kilograms) of material from the moon, was then secured for the next stage of its journey. The samples will be transferred to specially developed facilities for storage, analysis and distribution for research.



https://www.space.com/chang-e-6-moon-fa ... ule-opened

[RTH10260]

Space X dual recovery landing of booster rockets

[RTH10260]

Astronauts take cover as defunct Russian satellite splits into nearly 200 pieces
The six US astronauts aboard International Space Station rush to their spacecrafts in case of emergency departure

Reuters
Fri 28 Jun 2024 01.14 CEST

A defunct Russian satellite has broken up into nearly 200 pieces of debris in orbit, forcing astronauts on the International Space Station to take shelter for about an hour and adding to the mass of space junk already in orbit, US space agencies said.

There were no immediate details on what caused the breakup of the Resurs-P1 Russian Earth observation satellite, which Russia declared dead in 2022.

US Space Command, tracking the debris swarm, said there was no immediate threat to other satellites.

The event took place at around 10am mountain time (1600 GMT) on Wednesday, Space Command said. It occurred in an orbit near the space station, prompting US astronauts onboard to shelter in their spacecraft for roughly an hour, Nasa’s Space Station office said.

Russian space agency Roscosmos, which operated the satellite, did not respond to a request for comment or publicly acknowledge the event on its social media channels.

US Space Command, which has a global network of space-tracking radars, said the satellite immediately created “over 100 pieces of trackable debris”.

By Thursday afternoon, radars from US space-tracking firm LeoLabs had detected at least 180 pieces, the company said.

Large debris-generating events in orbit are rare but of increasing concern as space becomes crowded with satellite networks vital to everyday life on Earth, from broadband internet and communications to basic navigation services, as well as satellites no longer in use.

The satellite’s breakup was at an altitude of roughly 220 miles (355km) in low Earth orbit, a popular region where thousands of small to large satellites operate.

“Due to the low orbit of this debris cloud, we estimate it’ll be weeks to months before the hazard has passed,” LeoLabs said in a statement to Reuters.

The roughly 25,000 pieces of debris bigger than 4 ins (10cm) in space caused by satellite explosions or collisions have raised concerns about the prospect of a Kessler effect - a phenomenon in which satellite collisions with debris can create a cascading field of more hazardous junk and exponentially increase crash risks.



https://www.theguardian.com/science/art ... ce-station

[raison de arizona]

Collin Rugg is a tool. And a dull one at that. I don't believe a word that comes out of his mouth. Interesting video though.

NEW: Chinese rocket which was developed to rival Musk’s Space X, crashes into a mountain side.

The Tianlong-3 rocket accidentally lifted off during a static fire test according to The Telegraph.

After launching into the air, the rocket was seen falling back to Earth, exploding into the mountainside near the city of Gongyi in Henan Province.

The rocket was owned by private Chinese business Space Pioneer.

Space Pioneer claims a “structural failure” of the launch moorings which were supposed to hold the rocket in place resulted in the accidental launch.

Reports say there are no casualties at this moment.

[Reality Check]

https://www.theguardian.com/business/ar ... astronauts

Two US astronauts stuck in space as Boeing analyzes Starliner problems

Barry Wilmore and Sunita Williams have spent better part of month in ISS as engineers work out problem

Wed 26 Jun 2024 12.00 CEST
Last modified on Wed 26 Jun 2024 22.17 CEST

Boeing’s public relations crisis is now out of this world: the company’s Starliner spacecraft – with two astronauts onboard – are currently stuck in space.

I have seen this misleading headline numerous times. The Starliner astronauts are not "stuck in space". They will eventually return using the spacecraft. Boeing is being extra cautious and trying to gather as much data as possible on the thruster issue because once they return the service module will be detached to burn up in the atmosphere. So if they are going to gather data this is the only chance. Only one thruster is being removed from service. The remaining ones are more than enough to accomplish the de orbit maneuver. There is also plenty of helium left to make the return trip.

[RTH10260]

SpaceX Falcon 9 Suffers In Flight Engine Failure, Starlink Payloads Lost
SpaceX has experienced its first in-flight failure of a Falcon 9 rocket since 2015, potentially resulting in the loss of a batch of Starlink satellites and raising concerns across the space industry.

Fri Jul 12 2024
Written by Zac Aubert

SpaceX has experienced its first in-flight failure of a Falcon 9 rocket since 2015, potentially resulting in the loss of a batch of Starlink satellites and raising concerns across the space industry.

The failure occurred during SpaceX’s 70th orbital launch of the 2024, designated Starlink 9-3. The mission began promisingly with a liftoff from Vandenberg Space Force Base on July 11, 2024 at 7:35 p.m. PDT (10:35 p.m. EDT, 0235 UTC). However, issues arose during the burn of the Falcon 9’s second stage when an unusual amount of ice was observed accumulating around the Merlin Vacuum engine in camera views from the rocket.

A planned one-second burn of the second stage, intended to circularize the orbit, was supposed to occur 52 minutes and 20 seconds after liftoff.

Approximately an hour after the expected time of satellite deployment, Musk released a statement.

“Upper stage restart to raise perigee resulted in an engine RUD [Rapid Unscheduled Disassembly] for reasons currently unknown. Team is reviewing data tonight to understand root cause. Starlink satellites were deployed, but the perigee may be too low for them to raise orbit. Will know more in a few hours.” - Elon Musk

An hour later SpaceX released an update.

"During tonight’s Falcon 9 launch of Starlink, the second stage engine did not complete its second burn. As a result, the Starlink satellites were deployed into a lower than intended orbit. SpaceX has made contact with 5 of the satellites so far and is attempting to have them raise orbit using their ion thrusters." - SpaceX Statement

On board were 20 Starlink satellites; 13 direct-to-cellphone satellites, and 7 v2 mini satellites. The satellites are believed to have been released into a approximate orbit of 295 km by 138 km, instead of the intended deployment orbit of 296 km by 286 km.

Musk provided further updates on the situation: “We’re updating satellite software to run the ion thrusters at their equivalent of warp 9. Unlike a Star Trek episode, this will probably not work, but it’s worth a shot. The satellite thrusters need to raise orbit faster than atmospheric drag pulls them down or they burn up.”

This incident marks the first failure, whether partial or total, for a Falcon 9 since a September 2016 when a Falcon 9 rocket exploded on the launch pad at Cape Canaveral during fueling operations for a pre-flight static test fire, resulting in the destruction of an Israeli communications satellite and extensive damage to Space Launch Complex 40. The last in-flight failure occurred in June 2015, when the upper stage broke apart during the launch of a cargo Dragon spacecraft.

Since then, the Falcon 9 has achieved a remarkable record of success. This launch was the 354th for the Falcon 9, since the June 2015 in-flight failure.



https://tlpnetwork.com/news/in-space/sp ... loads-lost

[Foggy]

Two US astronauts stuck in space as Boeing analyzes Starliner problems

I have seen this misleading headline numerous times. The Starliner astronauts are not "stuck in space".

I agree with your analysis, but they have now been in the ISS for 53 days, with no specific end in sight. They were originally supposed to be there 8 days. The latest headline in Washington Post is "indefinitely stuck in space".

Gift article from the Washington Post ...
https://wapo.st/4c4kMGX

[Chilidog]

https://www.theguardian.com/business/ar ... astronauts

Two US astronauts stuck in space as Boeing analyzes Starliner problems

I get it, there are practical (and political) reasons why NASA has been patient with Boeing and their Starliner project.


But damn.... Boeing has done nothing but step on their own <^%^%> for the past 15 years.

[Chilidog]

SpaceX Falcon 9 Suffers In Flight Engine Failure, Starlink Payloads Lost
This incident marks the first failure, whether partial or total, for a Falcon 9 since a September 2016 when a Falcon 9 rocket exploded on the launch pad at Cape Canaveral during fueling operations for a pre-flight static test fire, resulting in the destruction of an Israeli communications satellite and extensive damage to Space Launch Complex 40. The last in-flight failure occurred in June 2015, when the upper stage broke apart during the launch of a cargo Dragon spacecraft.

Since then, the Falcon 9 has achieved a remarkable record of success. This launch was the 354th for the Falcon 9, since the June 2015 in-flight failure.



https://tlpnetwork.com/news/in-space/sp ... loads-lost

Cue the Flat Earther babble about "hitting the firmament."

[Chilidog]

Talk about an expense report.....

IMG_2529.jpeg (379.54 KiB) Viewed 2658 times

[RTH10260]

Watch SpaceX catch Starship Super Heavy booster with 'chopsticks' in this animation

By Mike Wall
published July 2, 2024

SpaceX could try such a catch for real on the next Starship test flight.

A new SpaceX video gives us a glimpse of the future — the very near future, perhaps.

Late last week, Elon Musk's company posted on X a 60-second animation showing Super Heavy — the first stage of SpaceX's giant new Starship rocket — coming back down to Earth after a liftoff.

SpaceX has made rocket landings relatively routine, commonly bringing back the first stages of its workhorse Falcon 9 and powerful Falcon Heavy vehicles. But the touchdown in the animation is different: It's a midair catch performed by the "chopstick" arms of the huge launch tower at Starbase, SpaceX's site in South Texas.

And that is indeed what SpaceX plans to do on launches of the 400-foot-tall (122 meters) Starship, the biggest and most powerful rocket ever built. Bringing Super Heavy back down directly on the launch mount will allow SpaceX to refurbish and relaunch the vehicle much more efficiently, Musk has said.

And we may not have to wait long to see the animation come to life.

"I think we should try to catch the booster with the mechazilla arms next flight!" Musk said via X on June 6, shortly after Starship's fourth-ever test flight. ("Mechazilla" is the nickname he's given to Starbase's launch tower.)

SpaceX is taking steps to make this happen. On June 27, the company posted on X a short video of the chopstick arms closing around a stationary Super Heavy sitting on the launch mount.



https://www.space.com/spacex-starship-s ... -animation

[John Thomas8]

[RTH10260]

NASA likely to significantly delay the launch of Crew 9 due to Starliner issues
The primary reason for the delay is rather surprising.

Eric Berger -
8/5/2024, 5:37 PM

NASA is planning to significantly delay the launch of the Crew 9 mission to the International Space Station due to ongoing concerns about the Starliner spacecraft currently attached to the station.

While the space agency has not said anything publicly, sources say NASA should announce the decision this week. Officials are contemplating moving the Crew-9 mission from its current date of August 18 to September 24, a significant slip.

Nominally, this Crew Dragon mission will carry NASA astronauts Zena Cardman, spacecraft commander; Nick Hague, pilot; and Stephanie Wilson, mission specialist; as well as Roscosmos cosmonaut Alexander Gorbunov, for a six-month journey to the space station. However, NASA has been considering alternatives to the crew lineup—possibly launching with two astronauts instead of four—due to ongoing discussions about the viability of Starliner to safely return astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams to Earth.

As of late last week, NASA still had not decided whether the Starliner vehicle, which is built and operated by Boeing, should be used to fly its two crew members home. During its launch and ascent to the space station two months ago, five small thrusters on the Starliner spacecraft failed. After extensive ground testing of the thrusters, as well as some brief in-space firings, NASA had planned to make a decision last week on whether to return Starliner with crew. However, a Flight Readiness Review planned for last Thursday was delayed after internal disagreements at NASA about the safety of Starliner.



https://arstechnica.com/space/2024/08/n ... er-issues/

[Foggy]

However, a Flight Readiness Review planned for last Thursday was delayed after internal disagreements at NASA about the safety of Starliner.

That's ... not good. And Wilmore and Williams are stuck until at least February.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/business ... ng-spacex/

[Chilidog]

WTF happened to Boeing?

They used to be competent.

[Reality Check]

WTF happened to Boeing?

They used to be competent.

The MAGA crowd blames DEI of course.

I listened to some of the NASA press briefing yesterday. Oddly Boeing had no one on the call. After the briefing the video person interviewed Eric Berger from Ars Technica. He has been following the Starliner saga closely and seems pretty fair. He thinks that there is an intense internal struggle going on within NASA over what to do. Boeing insists that Starliner is safe to use for the crew return. The engineers in NASA and astronauts do not agree. They believe we should not allow astronauts on a vehicle with known problems. I think the most likely outcome is that the Starliner astronauts will return on another vehicle such as Crew Dragon or Soyuz and after new software is uploaded the Starliner will return uncrewed.

Link:

[northland10]

WTF happened to Boeing?

They used to be competent.

The McDonnel Douglas merger. MD and their cheap cost-cutting leadership ended up in control over the Boeing engineering centered leaders. Too also. They brought in GE JacK Welch acolytes who were all about cutting and stock buybacks.

[Foggy]

NASA said Thursday it will decide this weekend whether Boeing’s new capsule is safe enough to return two astronauts from the International Space Station, where they’ve been waiting since June. https://apnews.com/article/boeing-starl ... e25d27ba18

[Foggy]

News conference now scheduled for 1 pm.

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nat ... 917958007/

Instructions for streaming in the linked article.

[tek]

boeing1.jpg (237.4 KiB) Viewed 1585 times

[Estiveo]

GV7T4p-WsAAVYuO.jpeg (57.47 KiB) Viewed 1559 times

[Rolodex]

So Space Karen is also building commercial astronaut suits for use outside of spaceships. Tomorrow the crew will set off in a Space X rocket, de-pressurize their capsule and take the new suits (with them in it) out into space. One of the crew is a billionaire. Wonder if it will go the way of billionaire trips in commercial submarines or mega yachts in storms.

Jared Isaacman, a billionaire adventurer and philanthropist who chartered the first commercial flight to orbit aboard a SpaceX Crew Dragon in 2021 plans to blast off with three crewmates on an even more daring flight Wednesday, this one featuring the first commercial spacewalks.

Wearing innovative SpaceX-designed suits and connected to their spacecraft by 12-foot-long umbilicals and safety tethers, Isaacman and SpaceX crew trainer Sarah Gillis will each spend about 15 minutes each just outside the ship's forward hatch to put the suits through their paces.

Oh for pete's sake:

The Polaris Dawn mission is the first of three planned by Isaacman, who owns and pilots his own MiG-29 fighter jet, in cooperation with Musk. The second flight will be another Crew Dragon mission while the third will be the first piloted flight of SpaceX's huge Super Heavy-Starship rocket, now under development in Texas.

Launch was for today (Tuesday) but got delayed due to ...equipment problem.

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/spacex-pol ... spacewalk/

The website for the venture is... something else. https://polarisprogram.com/dawn/